1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pallet on which a load is loaded and then transported or stored and a load packaging method for loading and packaging a load loaded on the pallet.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional pallet used for the transport and storage etc. of goods is normally a general purpose item made from wood or metal and formed without consideration given to the shape of the load to be loaded on the pallet.
The transport and storage of photosensitive printing plates will be described as an example. When a large quantity of photosensitive printing plates are packaged (for example, 250.about.1500 plates per one package) and transported, the photosensitive printing plates which are manufactured in a factory are placed in stacks of a predetermined number and intermediately packaged. The intermediately packaged photosensitive printing plates are then stacked on general use pallets made of wood or metal and externally packaged, and are then transported or stored. In some cases, the photosensitive printing plates are also stacked directly on the pallets and then externally packaged before being transported or stored.
However, general use pallets made of wood or metal are expensive due to the material costs and the labor required for their manufacture. Moreover, these pallets are heavy and difficult to handle during transport or storage. Furthermore, disposal of the wood or metal forming the pallet is difficult and pallets are sometimes left to accumulate at their destination after being transported.
In addition, because general use pallets are used which are made without consideration given to the shape of the load, positioning and fastening of the load when loading the pallets have been difficult.
On the other hand, when a small quantity of photosensitive printing plates are packaged (for example, 10.about.100 plates per package) and transported, units of stacked and intermediately packaged photosensitive printing plates are further placed in corrugated fiberboard boxes, which are then packaged and transported etc.
However, if corrugated fiberboard boxes are used, it is necessary to perform the time-consuming task of opening each corrugated fiberboard box one by one when the photosensitive printing plates are to be used. Moreover, because the empty corrugated fiberboard boxes end up as waste material at their destination, a great deal of waste materials are generated particularly after a large quantity of photosensitive printing plates have been transported.